Does anyone else feel like they’re trapped in a maze when they walk through the front part of EPCOT?
Um…where’s the way out?
There are SO many construction walls in this area, and they change pretty frequently too! That’s because EPCOT is going through a HUGE transformation right now, with new restaurants, rides, and attractions all in the works. Apparently Disney wants to know what guests think about all the changes happening at this park because we were recently sent a new survey that asked for our feedback on several different things in EPCOT. And some of the questions hinted at some big changes on the horizon!
After we left EPCOT yesterday, we were sent a survey from Disney Parks that asked us for our opinion on several different changes happening in the park.
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Disney will send out these surveys periodically — or even ask guests to fill them out while they’re inside the parks — in order to gauge guests’ feelings and reactions to the parks and see where change may be required.
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The survey started by confirming that we had been in EPCOT recently…
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…and it asked us for some information about our recent visit, including what time we arrived at the park and what time we left.
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This kind of information shows Disney how long we spent in the park, which is important data for the parks to have. Understanding how guests like to spend their day in Disney World (whether they spend all day in one park or prefer to only stay for a few hours) can affect the changes Disney makes.
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The next few questions were all about characters! Remember that some big changes are coming up soon for character meet-and-greets in Disney World.
Mickey in his EARidescent outfit!
An executive recently said that more traditional meet and greets are returning soon, which likely means we’ll be able to interact more closely with the characters. The first question about this asked us how we would feel about waiting in line to meet a character like Mickey Mouse.
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The questions also mentioned cavalcades and shows. With some major entertainment changes happening in the parks (like the return of the Festival of Fantasy Parade and the updated Cinderella Castle show in Magic Kingdom), Disney seems to be investigating how those changes will impact guests’ desires to interact more personally with the characters.
Festival of Fantasy Parade
The next question is pretty telling: Disney asked us if we would have expected to be able to hug Mickey Mouse if we waited to meet him. This question seems to reiterate that more personal, interactive meet and greets could be coming back soon!
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The character questions continued, with the next one asking about our current feelings towards character dining experiences. Remember that character dining is modified right now, and the characters don’t come right up to your table to interact with guests. It has recently changed so that in some restaurants you can get up and stand closer to the characters to take photos, but it’s not quite back to pre-pandemic “normal” yet.
Mickey in Tusker House
And Cinderella’s Royal Table recently underwent a BIG change when they moved Cindy to the entrance of the restaurant instead of having her walk around or greet guests from the balcony. The survey question asked about our interest in character dining and whether we perceived the modified version as a lower value than the normal version.
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The last part of the survey asked us to comment on EPCOT attractions by giving them certain adjectives. The possible choices were iconic, personal favorite, immersive, boring, dated, or offensive. The last adjective was interesting to us because Disney has recently been working to correct potentially offensive attractions in their parks, with some of the most recent changes coming to Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom. It’s possible that Disney is working to correct more of these attractions now.
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We were asked about several EPCOT attractions, including ones like Gran Fiesta Tour…
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…the American Adventure pavilion in EPCOT’s World Showcase…
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…and Frozen Ever After, among several other attractions and rides.
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Then, we were asked about our membership in certain Disney-associated groups, with some options including being a Disney+ subscriber, a DVC member, a Magic Key holder, or a Costco member.
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The final question was very broad. It asked us, “What is your general attitude towards change at EPCOT?” This is a BIG question that we have a lot of thoughts about, but it was boiled down to a simple multiple-choice answer for this survey. Your answer can range from “I generally don’t like change” to “Change is good with few exceptions.”
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And that was it! It looks like Disney is working to better understand guest reactions to the changes happening in the parks. We can’t wait to see what happens next with EPCOT’s huge transformation.
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Keep following DFB for more updates on the latest Disney news!
Click here to learn about some BIG changes that just came to Space 220 in EPCOT!
Want MORE Details About EPCOT’s MASSIVE Transformation?
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SNEAK PEEK at the NEW Fireworks Show Coming to EPCOT
Click HERE for All the News and Details about EPCOT’s Transformation!
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What do you think about all the changes happening in EPCOT right now? Let us know in the comments.
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Too bad it wasn’t sent to more people like DVC members. I would have LOVED to voice my opinions!!!
@Pris I’m sure it was sent to a variety of people. I’m DVC and I received one.
Yes, DVC Members could be a terrific control group to measure guest opinion, too bad they treat DVC members so poorly. Beyond that, finally a survey that actually askes pertinent questions about the quality of the guest experience within each attraction. It is about time they asked some real questions as to what we, the guest wants from Disney.
I was there in March, and never received this survey. I was also there in October, and we’re AP holders.
Epcot has been a disgusting mess forever because of this construction. Who the hell is in charge of this!? No way it should take this long!
And no railroad in MK for HOW many years!? To build ONE stupid ride!? And no way for people to conveniently get from one end of MK to the other!? People who may have mobility issues!?
My God. These guys are doing everything wrong.
To be fair Ira- the parks division lost several billion dollars during 2020. That put a pause on any construction that wasn’t near completion.
I’m just glad to see they are working to finish the areas where everything was torn out.
Answering multiple choice questions does not allow the person to really explain their feelings about all of the changes and the plusses and minuses. Give us a chance to write a response and then they will get a true feeling about what they are doing not just to EPCOT but to all of WDW. This is the problem I have with all of their survey’s. They would then find out how much they are aggravating a lot of the visitors.
I think a survey should be sent electronically to each and every guest each time they visit the park(s). For what it costs, guests should definitely have some input. Unfortunately, I don’t think Disney really wants to know what people think. If Disney really cared what people think, Bob Chapel’s contract would not have been renewed!
Why is it that guests are not queried after a stay at a Disney resort, let alone the parks. Bottom line, they do not want to know.